Midwives have been warned against treating husbands of expectant mothers harshly. "We are working on including men in the antenatal system, so treating them harshly drives them away from attending antenatal clinics with their wives," Dr. Imelda Namagembe, the head of the Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Uganda, said.

Namagembe was speaking at the International Students' Scientific Conference on maternal health and newborn health, at the Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala, recently.

She advised midwives and doctor to devise persuasive ways, such as sensitisation on the benefits of attending antenatal clinics as a couple.

"Bringing men on board encourages them to be cooperative partners in the pre and post-antenatal process. Therefore, you need to listen and advise them through the process, as it is done for women," she emphasised.